I don’t envy the position that Bugiri finds itself at this moment in time. Bugiri is the home of the Secretary General of NRM Rt.Hon Justine Kasule Lumumba and the same Bugiri is home of to failed former leader of opposition Rt. Hon Wafula Ogutu popularly called Wafu, who up to now bears a grudge against Lumumba for his loss of his parliamentary seat and is desperately plotting a comeback.
Whether he succeeds or not it’s a question of time given that in the recently held LC election he lost in all villages in his Nankoma Sub County.
The same Bugiri is becoming the Waterloo of FDC in Uganda’s politics and all blame is pointing to Kasule Lumumba with many political pundits saying her hands are firmly gripped on the steering wheel headed straight for the funeral of the opposition and the FDC has sensed it.
The FDC is in total panic not only in Bugiri but Uganda as an whole which is a result of the repercussions of politics in Bugiri. The opposition has united to oppose the FDC candidate, the little known Namatende and coalition is holding fort. The panic button led the FDC deputy Secretary General Harold Kaijja to advise voters to vote NRM if they can’t vote Fdc’s Namatende, the shenanigans are out.
In situations like this Kasule Lumumba, Asuman Basalirwa and to an extent FDC’s Namatende should be extra cautious about their security. There is a wounded Buffalo at the verge of collapse.
Police and security agencies should not act stupidly and in haste, they may be led to make mistakes because I foresee a political tsunami.
It’s in Bugiri that Bobi wine is seriously trying to cut his teeth in the opposition politics by wrestling the position of political Ayatollah in the opposition politics from Col Dr Kiiza Besigye.
Open political hostility between Bobi wine and Besigye is more likely to escalate to levels unseen before. The choice of all this taking place in Bugiri leaves Rt.Hon Wafula with an egg in the face and curses and concoctions go to Lumumba.
Now the likes of Wafula Ogutu believe that to check and slow the unstoppable Lumumba train, he must mudsling her and ridiculously blame The NRM party for a murder that took place at Asuman Basalirwa’s rally which Fdc was trying very much to subterfuge hence a loss of an innocent soul at the hands of the police.
True to her mental, Lumumba has not responded to Wafula as she’s perhaps busy burying the opposition in Uganda and is demanding from the police that the perpetrators be brought to Book.
History is being made in Bugiri and most probably Lumumba is the architect and the unsuspecting opposition was lured willingly to Bugiri on her turf where she was MP for 3 terms and an education officer before that hence with immense knowledge of the political terrain.
When they appointed Lumumba Secretary General, the fear was that will a woman handle but now people know that after God fear women.
Bugiri municipality with a voters population of less than 7000 may reshape Uganda’s politics.
The Writer is a journalist and the NRM administrative Secretary for Kamuli district.